Ensco International says Ike mostly spared rigs

Ensco International Inc. said Monday it had located all but one of its jackup rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and found they were not damaged by Hurricane Ike.

The storm rammed into Texas early Saturday with sustained winds of about 110 mph, destroying at least 10 offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and leaving many refineries and pipelines idled or destroyed throughout the region.

The rig that was not located, the Ensco 74, was originally about 92 miles offshore in 230 feet of water. Aerial reconnaissance and a boat sent to the area failed to locate the platform.

Ensco had insured the platform for $100 million and has a $50 million per occurrence retention for the Gulf of Mexico windstorm damage losses with an aggregate annual limit of $155 million.

Shares fell $3.55, or 5.8 percent, to $57.67 in afternoon trading, amid a broad market sell-off.